Energy giant Shell deepens India market reach through Raj Petro acquisition

Business Standard

a day ago

Global energy giant Shell has acquired Mumbai-based Raj Petro Specialities to deepen its foothold in the world's third biggest lubricants market in the world, a top company official said.
Shell, which has already invested over $5 billion in India across the energy value chain -- from LNG import terminals and fuel stations to renewable energy and technology centres -- has acquired 100 per cent equity interest in Raj Petro Specialities Pvt Ltd from Germany's Brenntag Group.
"I think the acquisition of Raj Petro marks a very important and a significant milestone for the lubricants business in the country. India is the third biggest lubricants market and from our strategic intent India is one of the important growth markets.
"So we have always been looking at ways by which we can serve more consumers with more products at the right price points," said Mansi Madan Tripathy, Chairman of Shell Group of Companies in India and Vice President - Lubricants Asia Pacific.
Without disclosing financial details of the transaction, she said the acquisition of Raj Petro Specialities by Shell Lubricants supports its plans to grow its portfolio and customer base in India, which is one of its key growth markets.
Raj Petro, which has manufacturing facilities at Chennai and Silvassa, offers a wide range of products - from transformer oil to petroleum jellies, white oils, waxes and lubricants. The more than 80-year-old Mumbai-headquartered firm was acquired by Germany's Brenntag in 2017-18.
Shell has a lubricant oil blending plant at Taloja, Maharashtra, and a 200-plus distributors network which will be further strengthened with the addition of Raj Petro.
"Raj Petro adds a new portfolio which is in growing sectors of pharmaceuticals, in personal care, power transmission and white oils which then adds on to our current portfolio to delight our customers in new ways," she said, adding it will help Shell realise new synergies and economies of scale across the lubricants value chain.
India is the world's third largest lubricants market and is one of the four focus countries for Shell Lubricants' business growth strategy.
It serves close to 50,000 outlets through a network of 200 B2C and B2B distributors.
The firm already has long-standing partnerships with OEMs which help it co-create energy solutions. These include some of the world's top automotive manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motors, Mahindra Auto, Nissan Motor Corporation, BMW and industrial customers such as Volvo, John Deere, Komatsu and Thermax.
Shell is already expanding its portfolio with innovative solutions, including cooling fluids specifically designed for data centres.
The acquisition of Raj Petro Specialities enables Shell to create more value by growing its lubricants portfolio and customer base in India.
"We also believe that because of the scale, we will also be able to derive synergies through the entire value chain. So from both the customer lens and operational efficiency lens, we do believe that it is going to add significant value for India's lubricants growth plans which is already on a very strong footing but it will take us to a new acceleration," Tripathy said.
She said Raj Petro brings with it a robust operational backbone with two manufacturing plants in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Silvassa (Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) with a total production capacity of 350,000 tonnes per annum along with R&D Centres.
Raj Petro not just strengthens local footprint but also brings international presence too. "They are also present in 100 countries globally. So we will have to find the best synergies from a portfolio perspective and then see what will be the footprint from an exact numbers perspective," she added.
This integration unlocks powerful synergies across product development, supply chain efficiency, and customer reach. Raj Petro's diverse portfolio - including white oils, petroleum jelly, and specialty products - enhances Shell's offerings and enables cross-sectoral growth.